Fear is not real. Fear is a choice.

Recently, Marie and I settled in to watch the movie After Earth, starring Will Smith.

The plot background is in the future, an environmental cataclysm forces the human race to abandon Earth and settle on a new world, Nova Prime.

One thousand years later, The United Ranger Corps, a peacekeeping military commanded by General Cypher Raige (Smith), comes into conflict with alien creatures who intend to conquer Nova Prime. Their primary weapons are the Ursas: large, blind predatory multi-limbed creatures that hunt by actually “smelling” fear (pheromones). The Rangers struggle against the Ursas until the impassive Cypher learns how to completely suppress his fear, in effect becoming invisible to the Ursa—a technique called “ghosting.” After teaching this act to the other Rangers, he leads the Ranger Corps to eventual victory.

Most of the movie centers on a military father (Smith) and his teenage son crash landing on Earth due to a mission gone wrong. The son must save his dying father and himself by trekking alone across hostile terrain pursued by evolved predators, and an Ursa who was aboard their spacecraft, to recover a rescue-beacon and return home.

I was enjoying the film, but not engrossed in it, until this scene:

Did you hear that? If not, read the quote below, slowly, and from a Kingdom perspective:

Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity Kitai. Do not misunderstand me, danger is very real, but fear is a choice. We are all telling ourselves a story and that day mine changed.”

Do you hear Jesus in that? I did. I love when Jesus invades the seemingly meaningless and temporal, to reveal Meaning and the Eternal. I sat up from my slumped posture and rewinded the scene to listen again.

Fear is not real.

It can only exist in our thoughts,

about future events that may, or may not occur,

as a product of our imagination.

This is liken to being insane.

Danger is real.

But, fear is a choice.

We are all telling ourselves a story, choosing how we respond to perceived danger,

and we can change how we choose.

Thank you Cypher Raige for that Truth nugget!

As I’ve sat with the Lord to unpack this more, I realize that “fear” may indeed be “real,” but like so many things, misunderstood. I think most of us approach the concept of “fear” from the definition of an unpleasant emotion from the threat of danger, pain or harm. And I think this is the “fear” that Smith’s character was speaking to.

So many of us are in bondage to this fear. It may not present to us as a response to a physical crisis, an attack, an accident, or intense war of some kind. But how many dreams die on the sword of fear? How many lives go unfulfilled because of fear? How many times is a “yes” to the voice of God inside never said – because of a “yes” to a fearful voice inside instead?

We are all telling ourselves a story… We are all listening to voices. What story, and what voice are we obeying?

Sadly, too often the Story and Voice is not the One who said “Do not worry about your life, or tomorrow, or your welfare, or what you will wear, or what you have to eat. Trust in My Life in you, and abide.”

Someone once told me that there are 365 Scripture verses (one for every day of the year) that say some variation of “Do NOT fear.” Depending on translations, that may or may not be true – but a brief word search revealed that there are indeed many more references to “fear” than 365 – and yes, many, many of those are couched in the theme of “Do NOT,” or “Have NO.” The others reference “Fear” of the Lord, which we too often wrongly assign the limited emotion from threat of pain definition.

And it is now clearer to me that we indeed have a choice, between 2 “fears” – one false, one True:

We can choose to reject the lie of fear that is our flesh response to a perceived unpleasantness.

And, We can choose to crucify that flesh, and Live by the Spirit in a state of True Fear – which is reverence and awe for God’s Love.

When we worry, are anxious, or live in fear – of anything – we are responding from the flesh in unbelief. Instead, when we can rest and Live from the Love that indwells us – in a LIFE-style of worship – then we are choosing to believe and trust God’s goodness, His sovereignty, His Lordship, His Protection, His Provision, His Plan, His Love…

…and THAT is the only Fear we should choose. And in so choosing wisely, fear is indeed not real, and Fear becomes our Life and our comfort.

In the movie, choosing to reject fear (the negative one), was known as “Ghosting.”

Cypher Raige’s story that he was telling himself (hearing and listening to) changed that day. He changed his mind. That is repentance. His mind… became Sound – free of fear. He quit believing the lie.

Like Cypher, we must change our mind about fear. When we choose fear, we make an agreement with a lie – a lie that tells us we are not cared for or protected, or right where we should be. This agreement places faith in that lie, as all faith (right and wrong) must have an object. Agreement with fear, the lie, is faith in the Liar – Satan.

Fear (the kind we should choose) is faith in the Lord. It is responding to His reality.